As a kickoff to the national Future Sounds tour highlighting communities across the country, this concert celebrates the 50th year anniversary of the Harlem Cultural Festival. Taking place in the summer of 1969, the original festival held a series of concerts in Mount Morris Park (now known as Marcus Garvey Park), to celebrate black pride, empowerment, music, and culture, and featured the likes of Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly & the Family Stone, Jesse Jackson, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, and others.

Curated by Neal Ludevig, a founder of the Harlem Arts Festival, musical direction by Igmar Thomas (who has collaborated and led with the likes of Wyclef Jean, Mos Def, Esperanza Spalding, Lauryn Hill and Nas), co-hosted by Talib Kweli, the fiercely independent MC known for his incisive, hard-hitting socially conscious raps and for Black Star, and joined by Grammy Award-Winning Artist Cory Henry, Grammy-Nominated Alice Smith, Georgia Anne Muldrow (Erykah Badu, Madlib), Grammy Award-Winning trumpeter and singer Keyon Harrold (Common, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Rihanna) and Braxton Cook (Tom Misch, Christian Scott), this concert will feature a number of surprise special guests.

This SummerStage performance is presented in partnership with Future Sounds. For more information, please visit www.futurexsounds.com

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Food: Cornel’s Catering Co., The Fried Kitchen, and Grace Kelli Cupcakes.  Cuisines curated by Bronx Night Market

Community partners:Uptown Grand Central, While We Are Still Here, Manhattan CCC/ Manhattan Borough President’s Office. Census outreach coordinated by the Association for a Better New York.